NEW DELHI: As chilly air sweeps through northern India, temperatures in the Capital and neighboring states fall to record low levels making the mercury touch 1.5 – 2°C. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red-coded warning for the States of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Also, an amber-coded warning for the state of Madhya Pradesh for Sunday, December 29. Due to rising cold, dense fog has engulfed Delhi. The authorities had diverted four flights from Delhi airport to other locations. Dense fog has reduced visibility and disrupted air, rail and road traffic. Poor visibility also affected railways delaying 24 trains by two to five hours.
The States of Haryana and Punjab recorded the minimum temperature in many places 5-7 notches below normal. Among the two states, Hisar recorded the coldest temperature 0.2° C. Muzaffarnagar recorded the lowest temperature in Uttar Pradesh. Several other places in the state also experienced the cold wave as the temperature dipped below 2°C.
The northern states of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh also suffered with falling temperatures as water supply lines in the many areas and parts of the Dal Lake froze in Srinagar. The city witnessed the coldest night of the season yet at -5.8° C.